God's story: Isaiah.
So part of God's story is about Isaiah's prophecies about Jesus, and it goes like this.
Isaiah was a prophet. That means he heard from God and shared it with other people.
God had a lot to say to his special family, the Israelites, so he gave Isaiah prophecies.
A prophecy is when God makes a promise and tells us something that's going to happen in the future,
and God always keeps his promises.
Isaiah shared these prophecies with the Israelites.
He told them of God's power and majesty, how wonderful
and amazing and strong and kind and loving he is.
He said, "God gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."
This encouraged God's family and helped them trust that God was always with them.
The most amazing prophecy God told Isaiah was that he would send someone perfect to Earth,
someone who would take the punishment for our wrong choices.
Isaiah preached about how the rescuer would bring us close to God
and would be a light to the whole world.
He would bring good news to the poor and rule a new kingdom
where there is no suffering, pain or sadness.
Isaiah said, "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, the government will
rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end."
But how exactly would this rescuer arrive?
People thought he might come as a powerful king who would rule over everyone from a mighty throne,
and Isaiah did say the Rescuer would come from the family of King David.
But Isaiah also said the Rescuer would be born as a baby.
That he would come from a region called Galilee.
That he would serve others his whole life, and then be rejected,
beaten and killed by his own people.
Isaiah said he was pierced because we had sinned.
He was crushed because we had done what was evil.
He was punished to make us whole again.
His wounds have healed us.
But the prophecies didn't end there.
The most amazing thing of all - this Rescuer would die and then come back to life.
So God's family waited and waited.
For 700 years, they looked and listened and hoped for this Rescuer to come.
Then finally Jesus arrived and all the things Isaiah said about the Rescuer came true.
Jesus was born as a baby.
He came from Galilee.
He was a descendant of King David.
He served others his whole life.
He was beaten and killed even though he was completely innocent.
Then he defeated death and came back to life.
And because Jesus took the punishment that we deserve,
all we have to do is turn away from our wrong choices and choose to follow God instead.
Isaiah never got to see all these prophecies come true.
But he trusted that God would keep his promises and that he had a plan.
We can do the same thing even if we're going through something hard or confusing or sad.
And even if we have to wait a long time, we can hope and trust that God will take care of us.
And that's a little about the prophecies of Isaiah.
So in case you missed it, here's the quick version:
Isaiah was a prophet.
He heard from God and shared it with people.
God always keeps his promises.
God told Isaiah about the Rescuer.
People waited.
All the things Isaiah said came true.
Jesus, the Rescuer, fulfilled Isaiah's prophecies.
And that's a part of God's story.